Craters modified by ice

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

These craters, located in the southern highland heavily cratered terrain, show heavy degradation, most likely caused by the presence of water ice. A smaller crater is located in the floor of a larger crater, showing lobate ejecta thought to be created by water melted by the force of the impacting body. Gullies on the northern rim of the smaller crater may indicate accumulations of snow and subsequent melting. In the larger crater, the northern rim is greatly softened, with sinuous features suggestive of downslope flow, also potentially caused by creep of ground ice.